Strollers in Confederation Park prepare for Winterlude festivities.
Ottawans eager to lace up their skates and indulge in beaver tails don’t have to wait much longer as the 35th edition of Winterlude is set to kick off on Feb. 1.
According to Denise LeBlanc, a spokesperson for NCC, this year’s winter celebration will feature a wide range of new events and sites to cater to the diverse cultures and interests.
“As usual, we have the staples that people have come to know and love like skating on the freedom canal, the international ice carving competition, and the giant slides,” LeBlanc says. “But, of course, we always have fresh programming and we always have new themes to keep things exciting and new.”
One of the major changes this year is the addition of a new official site, the Marion Dewar Plaza, located at city hall.
The official opening ceremonies will take place here, with skating shows at the Rink of Dreams, musical performances, and DJ shows happening every weekend for the three-week duration of Winterlude, LeBlanc says.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Canada’s diplomatic relations with South Korea. To celebrate this, LeBlanc says the NCC will display a Garden of Lanterns given to Winterlude by the South Korean Jinju Lantern Festival.
The Garden of Lanterns will include 1,300 lanterns and will be 35 metres long – something LeBlanc says will be a rare sight. The ice carvings will also be lit up and on display along with public artwork.
According to LeBlanc, Winterlude introduced a new business model two years ago to encourage more partners to become a part of the celebration.
LeBlanc says this year, Winterlude has 75 programming partners – six times more than it had two years ago and the most they’ve ever had.
This means they’ve been able to evolve their programming to extend beyond the usual outdoor activities and to include more cultural events like an interactive presentation about the Northwest Territories, photo exhibitions, and cooking demonstrations.
LeBlanc says many of these events will be indoors so those worried about the cold can still come out and participate.
According to the Winterlude website, the Glebe BIA signed on as a Winterlude partner for the first time this year.
Throughout the duration of Winterlude, visitors can attend WinterFIT in the Glebe, which will promote healthy and actives lifestyles. WinterFIT will include a launch party with the Ottawa 67s, a snowboard competition, BBQ fundraiser and food drive, and workshops on skin and hair care and nutrition lectures.
Roxy Doan is a Carleton University student and Glebe resident who says she is excited to participate in the Glebe Winterlude events.
“I’ve never really gone to any Winterlude events except for skating down the canal, and I’ve lived in Ottawa for two years,” she says. “I’m a huge health nut though, so I’ll definitely be attending those lectures about health and wellness.”
The Somerset-Chinatown BIA is also a partner this year and will present a Chinese Lion Dance on Feb. 16.
Centretown residents interested in arts and culture can visit the Wellington West Warm-Up, which will include plays, gallery exhibitions, and artist profiles.
For many people, including LeBlanc, Winterlude is a great time to celebrate the season of sweaters and scarves.
“Winterlude is really one of the reasons why I love winter so much. It’s probably one of my favourite seasons,” LeBlanc says.
“There’s always so much going on and it draws you out to enjoy the outdoors, get the rosy cheeks, and have a few snowflakes land on your tongue.”
But as is the case every year, some residents have worried that Winterlude will have to be postponed because of a winter thaw. A recent warm spell raised questions as to whether the canal would open in time for the festival.
“What if the canal can’t open in time?” asks Carleton student Olivia Parsons.
LeBlanc says there’s no need to worry.
“As you can imagine, in 35 years of programming we’ve had weather related situations . . . either the weather’s too warm or the weather’s too cold, so we always have a lot of contingency plans in place,” LeBlanc says confidently.
In fact, LeBlanc said the NCC and City of Gatineau make 30,000 cubic metres of snow every year to create the Snowflake Kingdom and to build the giant snow slides at Jacques-Cartier Park. Once the slides are created, she said they ice them so they last the entire three-week period.
LeBlanc said they also have a special tent for the ice carvings to protect them from any sun or rain.
Prep work has already begun for the celebration, including on the ground setup at venues around town, which will continue over the next two weeks, leading up to the event's official launch.